Activity Overview
Students solve a problem involving surface area of cylinders. They find the surface area and the amount of tin needed to make the cylindrical parts of ten long open pipes.
Before the Activity
See the attached PDF file for detailed instructions for this activity
Print pages 78 - 86 from the attached PDF file for your class
Review the four steps of problem solving with students
During the Activity
Distribute the pages to the class.
Follow the activity procedures:
Read the problem and understand the dimensions of the ten longest pipes in the concert organ
Cut a cardboard or paper towel cylinder along its height to form a rectangle
Relate the surface area of the cylinder to the area of a rectangle
Find the scale of the drawing that shows the length and the width of the concert organ pipes
Find the height, diameter, and circumference of the ten longest pipes
Calculate the surface area and the square footage of tin needed to make the cylindrical part of the pipes
Create a chart with the details of the height, diameter, circumference, and surface area of the pipes
Write an explanation about the solution
Finding surface area
Solve problems involving calculation of surface area of cubes and open cylinders
After the Activity
Students examine the various solutions presented.
Review student results
As a class, discuss questions that appeared to be more challenging
Re-teach concepts as necessary